


Winter Turns to Spring

by delible_ink



Series: Clayleb Week 2019 [6]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Clayleb Week (Critical Role), Claylebweek2019, Domestic, Friends to Lovers to Husbands to Fathers, Future Fic, M/M, Married Couple, Minor Character Death, So Very Soft and Fluffy, The Clays: Makers of Fine Graves, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-27 02:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21384589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delible_ink/pseuds/delible_ink
Summary: Prompt 7: Return to the Earth, Domestic/Future FicFinal prompt for Clayleb Week 2019It's been 3 years since the Mighty Nein parted ways. Caleb and Caduceus are now the Clays who tend the Bone Orchard. Please enjoy a healthy Caleb, a healthy Caduceus, and their home full of love in a graveyard.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast
Series: Clayleb Week 2019 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536221
Comments: 10
Kudos: 132





	Winter Turns to Spring

Caleb’s trowel sunk into the rich, black earth, breaking up the newly thawed soil and creating beds for the seedlings. He tucked each one into its place with care, as if he were putting a child to bed. Cad told him he didn’t have to be so cautious. They were hearty plants, and they’d do well in the front garden. All the same, Caleb took to his task with no less attention to detail than if he were crafting a sigil.

It had been 3 years since the Mighty Nein parted ways and Caleb came to live with Caduceus in the Blooming Grove. He hadn’t had a home since childhood, but Cad had made one for him, first in his heart, and then here. It was winter when they arrived. Jester married them that spring. Caleb had never believed a life like this was possible until it was right before him, and with each change of the seasons, he found himself more and more enamored with the gift he’d been given.

Much to Caleb’s surprise, he found the graves comforting. He’d started to understand how Caduceus felt about them, as if surrounded by loved ones, just in a different stage of being. He wished his parents could rest here. That pain he still carried, but these days he was able to hold the love of their memories alongside it.

Caleb inspected his work in the flower bed before standing, turning to see Caduceus coming up the path. Cad was looking east, and instead of coming towards their cottage, he went to the shed, retrieved a bundle of tools and his long shovel, and walked out to the graves.

Oh.

Usually, Caduceus brought Caleb with him to prepare a burial site. Caleb would use his Cat’s Paw to dig the grave, and Caduceus would climb down after, and speak to the earth, asking it to make something beautiful of the body they laid to rest there, to have it as home, sustenance, and life. The only time Caduceus went alone was when he felt the grave needed particular attention--when the grief was close to him, or he needed to think something over. He preferred to take his space then, and dig alone. The earth would do its part of course, roots pulling back to make room as Caduceus went. Caleb watched him go, decide on his spot, and begin his task.

It was dusk when the chore was complete. Caduceus came in, dirty, covered in sweat, and tired, but he looked more at peace than when he started. Caleb had a loaf of bread, a warm stew on the stove and a teakettle waiting for him.

Caleb greeted Caduceus with a kiss, not caring at all for the state of his husband. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked quietly.

“I do. Yes. Very much. But I’d like to get cleaned up first.”

“I’ll come with you. This will keep.” he gestured towards their dinner, and Caduceus smiled.

“That sounds very nice, Caleb. Thank you.”

One of the additions Caleb and Caduceus made to the Clay’s home was a bathhouse. They’d gotten used to the one they had in Xhorhas, and it was particularly soothing after a day of digging or tending the garden. Caleb heated the water, as the magic-infused spring burbled to life, flowing out of the stone pool in a rivulet that ran to a stream in the woods. Caleb got in with Cad, washing his hair and working a lather over his shoulders, the touch gradually changing to a massage, and quiet, deep breathing. They both craved the closeness of these moments. They sat in silence in the tub for a while after the soap had all been washed away. Caduceus still did not say what was on his mind, or whose grave he had made.

After a dinner dotted with discussion of plants, and praise for Caleb’s work in the flowerbeds, they took their tea into the living room, and Caduceus sat in their large armchair by the fire.Caleb climbed into his lap. They had built a habit of reading here together every night, trading turns as Caduceus grew more confident in his ability. Tonight, however, reading seemed unlikely..

“Was it someone we knew?” Caleb asked. He’d rather get the hurt out in the open and deal with it than put it off longer. 

“No. No, I don’t even know her name. The healer in the village, Eliana, found her, half starved, wandering in the woods. A teenager, barely more than a girl.” He paused, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “She was pregnant. Eliana brought her in, the midwife delivered the baby last night, but the mother didn’t survive. She died before she even saw her child. They are bringing her body tomorrow, to give her back to the earth.” Caduceus was very still as he spoke. Caleb stroked his hair and rested his head on his husband’s shoulder.

“And the child?”

“A healthy baby girl. I saw her this morning. Held her. She was so fragile Caleb, but so--bright. So full of life. I could swear I saw Melora’s hand on her when they handed her to me.” Caleb could hear the tears in Cad’s voice. With his free hand, he threaded their fingers together.

“What will happen to her?”

“The midwife has five little ones of her own. She can’t take another. And Eliana’s in her nineties. She cannot care for the child. They will take her to the orphanage in the nearest city, once they have someone able to bring her there.”

They sat in silence. Caleb turned their entwined hands over a few times, chewing his lip as he contemplated.

“An orphanage is not a fate I would want to give any child, especially one Melora pointed out to you.” Caleb said finally.

Caduceus shifted, and Caleb met his eyes. He and Caleb had talked about this before. Caleb feared what would happen after his life ended, feared that Caduceus would be alone again. They had talked about who would come after them in the garden, talked of the emptiness Caduceus sometimes felt when he walked past his childhood tree swing, the silence in the house where someone seemed to be missing. But those were sleepy afternoon daydreams. Caduceus didn’t know if Caleb would really want this, or want it now. The question he’d been mulling over since this morning was plain on his face, but he was unsure how to ask it.

“She would never want for love here, Caduceus.”

Cad’s ears perked up immediately, and a grin slowly crept across his face. “I was thinking the same thing. I think, maybe this is supposed to be her home.”

Caleb kissed Caduceus soft and slow, and rested their foreheads together. “It would not be the first time Melora brought love to your door through loss. This sweetling’s story seems made for our home, ja?”

Cad hugged Caleb tightly. “I would love her to be in this family.”

“Then I will ask Eliana to bring her.”

Caleb wasted no time in sending the message, relieved to hear the old woman’s voice. 

“I will bring her. Thank you, Caleb. This child came into this world in sorrow. I hope you can do better for her.”

“We will, Eliana. We will.”

* * *

It was a small and simple ceremony. The midwife and the healer brought the body of the mother, along with the child. Birth, Life, and Death all riding in one cart. Caleb and Caduceus carried the body to the grave, and laid her down to her final sleep. They filled in the earth over her. Caleb stood back as Caduceus offered a prayer to the Wildmother, his voice raised in a clear, deep song. Eliana handed the baby to Caleb as soon as Caduceus began. “The Wildmother said her papa should have her now. This is an important moment.” Caleb looked bewildered as the child was placed in his arms. She was so small, so warm. He pulled her against his chest and tears stung the corners of his eyes. He looked back at his husband. Caduceus was kneeling, a hand buried in the earth. All over the fresh grave, purple and white spindly flowers exploded. Their tall stems sprouted thorns, but the blossoms were soft, inviting, celebratory. 

“Oh!” Caduceus watched them take root, and he couldn’t help but smile. 

He returned to the small gathering of witnesses, and the sight of Caleb holding their daughter melted him.

He came behind them, and took them in both in his gentle embrace.    
“Cleome.” He nodded to the flowers. “Her name is Cleome. Cleome Una Clay.”

Caleb grinned at the tiny being in his arms, and did not even try to stop the tears that fell. 

“Perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> I made it, you guys! All 7 prompts, and I only had to combine one! 
> 
> I'm soft for the idea of these gay dads, so while I myself and child-free, I adore this scenario for them. I hope you like it. Thank you so much for reading, for all the comments and kudos. I've had a lot of fun this week! Much love to you all!
> 
> Some notes for those who want extra details:  
-Cleome (Clee-Oh-Mee) is a lovely flower also known as a spider flower  
-Una is Caleb's mother's name  
-Caleb took the Clay last name, because he doesn't have to be an alias anymore. Caduceus became his home, so they share that name.  
-Firbolgs generally live to about 500 years old, Cad was 88-100 yrs old when they met, and Caleb has a human lifespan, hence the "what happens after I die" conversation.


End file.
